In Plateau state, human rights groups have recorded nearly 60,000 religious killings in the past six years.… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
World Press Freedom Day 
May 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘If truth is killed, the whole world will suffer.’… Read the rest
Egypt Celebrates World Press Freedom Day
May 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
By jailing Al-Jazeera producer for filming a documentary accusing Egyptian police of torturing prisoners.… Read the rest
Index on Censorship on Press Freedom Day
May 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Padraig Reidy on Johnston, Politkovskaya, Dink, Edward Chikomba, Joey Estriber; the list keeps growing.… Read the rest
Committee to Protect Journalists Report
May 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The ten worst: Ethiopia, Gambia, DRC, Russia, Cuba, Pakistan, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Thailand. … Read the rest
Vatican Calls Pope-criticism ‘Terrorism’
May 3rd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A presenter at a rock concert spoke out against some of Ratzinger’s views. That’s terrorism?… Read the rest
Women in Iran
May 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Women are owned by fathers or husbands, and that’s that.… Read the rest
Andrew Brown Disavows ‘Religion Bashing’ But
May 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has some odd beliefs.… Read the rest
Tragic Regression in US Universities
May 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Catastrophic decline in reason reported as students turn to ‘spirituality’ with alarming fervor.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on Taking on the Drug Companies
May 2nd, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If you charge people’s entire annual income for a lifesaving drug, then your customers will die.… Read the rest
Appreciate Your Secularism
May 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘It’s a luxury to be able to take it for granted here – and worth remembering that we shouldn’t.’… Read the rest
Turkish Court Annuls Presidency Vote
May 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Secularist opposition parties accuse Gul of a hidden Islamist agenda.… Read the rest
Jeff Weintraub Writes to Andrew Sullivan
May 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
About taking one’s own point of view to be the only or universal point of view.… Read the rest
A C Grayling on Rowan Williams on Morality
May 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Disappointing but unsurprising that former custodians of moral authority say morality has gone to pot.… Read the rest
Inayat Bunglawala Speaks Up for Sharia
May 1st, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Shariah courts deal with civil matters such as marriage and divorce. The arrangement is entirely voluntary.… Read the rest
How Multiculturalism is Betraying Women
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Women’s rights or multiculturalism? You can’t have both, Johann Hari notes; you have to choose.… Read the rest
Pill for Women Raises Libido, Lowers Appetite
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Next up: a pill that increases housework, reduces talk. The ideal woman is on the way.… Read the rest
Review of A C Grayling’s ‘Against All Gods’
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘To believe something in the face of evidence and against reason is ignoble, irresponsible and ignorant.’… Read the rest
Huge Rally for Turkish Secularism
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We want neither Sharia, nor a coup, but a fully democratic Turkey,’ demonstrators said.… Read the rest
Thought and Feeling Intimately Connected
Apr 30th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The top journals are now filled with research on the connections between emotion and cognition.… Read the rest
